


Only You

by heyitscmei



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Dorks in Love, Fluff, Ice Cream Dates, M/M, Sheith Birthday Exchange 2017, and keith loves him too, shiro loves his baby, thats it thats the fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-23
Updated: 2017-10-23
Packaged: 2019-01-21 18:57:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,376
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12463830
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/heyitscmei/pseuds/heyitscmei
Summary: When Shiro asks Keith if there’s anything he wants to do for his birthday, he expects the answer he gets, though it doesn’t make his plans any easier.“I don’t need anything. I already have you.”Keith rarely wants for much and he asks for such wants even less, so trying to get a straight answer for a good birthday gift is difficult.Shiro keeps it simple.





	Only You

**Author's Note:**

> My gift for IzzyTheBaka for the Sheith Birthday Exchange!
> 
> Hope you enjoy!

When Shiro asks Keith if there’s anything he wants to do for his birthday, he expects the answer he gets, though it doesn’t make his plans any easier.

_“I don’t need anything. I already have you.”_

It had been sweet and straightforward, the way Keith always is, and Shiro is a little floored by the reminder that Keith trusts him enough to be so honest and open with his feelings. That Keith is comfortable enough with him to wear his love, his devotion, on his sleeve, even when that honesty can embarrass him.

And it’s because Keith loves him, and because he loves Keith just as much, that Shiro wants to make Keith’s birthday special. It’s no secret between them that birthdays just hadn’t been things to look forward to for a large chunk of Keith’s life. Between the people who would forget and the ones who just didn’t give a damn, the happy occasion had been tainted with the kind of sorrow that bone-deep loneliness brings.

But Keith’s birthday _is_ special—something worth celebrating.

A long time ago, back when they’d first met, Shiro had been determined to _remember_. Remember Keith, his birthday, anything, everything, storing tidbits of information in the back of his mind. Keith likes apple scented products, his favorite colour is red, he takes his coffee sweeter and his penmanship is neater than one might expect.

Even after all this time, nothing has hampered Shiro’s desire to show Keith just how grateful he is that Keith was born. Because really, that’s what this is all about. Shiro can’t change the past. He can’t erase the bad experiences, the people who looked at Keith and thought he was a mistake, the people who told him the world would have been better off. What he can do, the only thing he can do, is build enough happy memories so that one day they might balance out.

So that, one day, they might overpower.

Keith rarely wants for much and he asks for such wants even less, so trying to get a straight answer for a good birthday gift is difficult.

Shiro keeps it simple.

On the day of Keith’s birthday, Keith allows Shiro to lead him out the door by the hand, quirking an amused eyebrow at him. By now, Keith knows to expect that Shiro will have _something_ planned for them to do, he just doesn’t know what. It’s never been anything grandiose, but they don’t need impressive plans to make good memories—they never have.

They stroll down the sidewalk, fingers linked loosely between them. Their destination is not very far and there’s something soothing about the fresh air, the tapping of feet against concrete, the crunch of leaves beneath their feet and the occasional chirping birds. The day is young; they go slow.

Shiro swings their arms slightly and Keith laughs, indulgent. Shiro’s steps stutter as he tries to match Keith’s strides and Keith laughs again.

“What are you _doing_?”

“Nothing.”

“What—you . . . if you keep that up, you’re going to trip over yourself and fall.” Keith’s smile is bright, though, because he knows exactly what Shiro is doing and Shiro knows that he knows.

“I’d fall for you every time if I could.”

Keith bumps him with his shoulder, gently.

“You’re such a dork.”

“Only for you.” Shiro presses a kiss to Keith’s temple and smiles at the sideways glance Keith gives him. “Because I love you, you know?”

“I know.”

 

It’s slightly cool inside the nearby Dairy Queen, but Shiro’s grateful to be inside again. Fallen leaves had kicked up and danced along the concrete as the wind picked up and Shiro warms the chilled fingers of his left hand in Keith’s.

“Ice cream?” Keith asks, quirking a brow at Shiro. He doesn’t sound disappointed, just surprised. “Kind of cold for it, don’t you think?”

Shiro can’t help his responding smile, dropping Keith’s hand to poke at his side. Keith yelps and jerks away. “As if the cold could stop us.”

“Point,” Keith replies, hand curled protectively over his side even as he concedes.

“Whatever you want, my treat,” Shiro says, taking Keith’s hand once more, tugging him further in until they can both look up at the menu options. Shiro’s still in the middle of considering his own order when Keith tugs gently on his arm, grabbing his attention.

“Banana Split,” Keith says. “Let’s share it.”

Shiro idly thinks that it’s incredibly like Keith to request something they can both share when Shiro tries to treat him. It’s stupidly endearing and Shiro presses a quick kiss to Keith’s cheek.

“Find us a table?”

Keith nods and disappears behind the divider between the queue and the seating area while Shiro steps up to the counter.

He gets them some burgers and fries for good measure, just because he wants to spoil Keith.

Keith doesn’t complain about the extra food when Shiro sets the tray down on the table, a booth tucked in the corner away from the noisier groups, but he does level Shiro with a pointed look that causes the corner of Shiro’s mouth to quirk upward in response.

Sliding into the booth, the first thing that Shiro does is nudge Keith’s feet beneath the table. Keith nudges back and the brief tussle that ensues ends with Shiro’s ankles locked around Keith’s. He’s about to hand over a plastic spoon before he pauses and picks of the french fries instead. Keith observes him with a look of clear confusion, brows furrowed and lips pinched in a puzzled pout, that doesn’t fade as Shiro pushes three fries into the ice cream so that they stand upright.

“We don’t have any candles and this isn’t a cake, but you can make a wish on the fries if you want,” Shiro says, finally handing over a spoon. Keith rolls his eyes fondly and smiles.

“Make a wish on the fries?” he mimics around a laugh. Shiro grins at the obviously delighted sound of it. “Should I blow them out?”

“Only if you want to.”

Instead, Keith plucks a fry out of the icy treat and pops it into his mouth, chewing thoughtfully.

“No need,” he decides. His eyes dart away before slowly dragging back to level Shiro with a meaningful gaze. “I think I’ve already got everything I’ve ever wanted.”

The rush of sheer fondness that courses through Shiro then is not new, but it overwhelms him anyways because he _loves_ Keith. He truly loves him.

“It makes me very happy that I can be that for you, give that to you,” Shiro says, not quite able to tamp down the force of his affection. He reaches for Keith’s hand across the table and rubs his thumb over pale knuckles and he thinks about pressing kisses to each one.

The way Keith’s cheeks warm at the honest confession is something that Shiro never fails to be completely charmed by. He squeezes Keith’s hand and quietly delights in the way Keith squeezes back.

“I love you,” Keith says, almost bashful, but his voice is unwavering. He digs into the ice cream then, perhaps to give himself something to do rather than sit still and wait for the reply, even if he knows what it’s going to be. There’s a small bit of ice cream lingering on Keith’s upper lip and it’s adorable, but Shiro doesn’t let it distract him.

Keith has always been more for expressing his affection through action, but Shiro knows he’s also the type who doesn’t make a point to say things he doesn’t mean. For them, it’s more than _I love you_. It’s so much more packed into three small words. It’s thanks and love and longing and all the things they’ve never really had to say because they’ve learned to read between the lines. It’s why the words carry so much warmth it’s almost tangible, almost makes Shiro worry that their banana split will melt where it sits on the table between them. It’s why the words are always special no matter how many times they exchange them.

“I love you too,” Shiro responds easily.

The kiss they trade, leaning over the table to meet halfway, is a bit sticky and sugar-sweet and perfect.

“Happy birthday, Keith.”


End file.
